McCaskill: No pay for Congress if gov't shuts down

The Missouri senator, and 17 Senate colleagues, today sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) urging him to pass legislation that would prevent members of Congress and the president from being paid during a federal government shutdown.

In the letter, the senators pointed out that Boehner has repeatedly refused to take up the measure, which was approved by the Senate unanimously a month ago.

The senators wrote, “It is essential that we work together to avoid a government shutdown, but if we cannot do our jobs and keep the government functioning, we should not get paid.”

The measure would fix a basic inequity that allows members of Congress and the president to be paid during a government shutdown – while millions of other federal employees are not – because lawmakers and the president are paid through mandatory spending rather than annual appropriations.

The bill would also prevent members of Congress and the president from being paid retroactively after a government shutdown.